Caylee Kurbec is a freshman state champion, and Cumberland’s next wave of cross-country runners had plenty to bring home from Deerfield Park.
Kurbec won the girls’ 4K race in 14:30.84 at the Rhode Island Freshman State Cross Country Championships on Monday, October 26, in Smithfield. The championship performance led a Cumberland girls squad that finished fourth among 10 scoring teams with 82 points, giving the Clippers an individual title alongside a strong team showing.
Madelyn Stephens added a top-10 finish of her own, placing 10th in 16:59.32. With Kurbec at the front of the results and Stephens joining her among the first 10 finishers, Cumberland had two runners making their mark near the top of the freshman field. Their finishes helped anchor the Clippers’ scoring effort, with the rest of the scoring lineup contributing to that fourth-place result.
The Cumberland boys put together a solid afternoon as well, finishing sixth among 16 teams with 160 points. Patrick Bickerstaff led the Clippers in 16th place with a time of 14:27.70, while Jackson Thurston followed in 19th at 14:36.99. Just 9.29 seconds separated Cumberland’s first two finishers, giving the boys a pair inside the top 20 to build their team result around.
Together, the Clippers placed both freshman squads in the upper half of their respective team standings. Stephens’ top-10 finish and the Bickerstaff–Thurston pairing gave Cumberland several individual performances to celebrate, while the team totals reflected the contributions beyond those leading runners.
And at the top of the girls’ results, one name stood above the rest: Caylee Kurbec, Cumberland. State champion.
Results: Wilbur Race Systems via MileSplit. Girls results · Boys results